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CIA, Texas

The CIA San Antonio campus at the Pearl Brewery Complex on the north end of the Riverwalk is undergoing a major expansion at the moment. The new CIA building will celebrate its Grand Opening in October with an open house. CIA Antonio, officially became the Culinary Institute of America’s third campus in 2008. The school was founded to realize a dream – El Sueño – to elevate Latin American cuisines to their rightful place among the great cuisines of the world, and to expand diversity within the foodservice industry.

Certified Master Chef David Kellaway, the managing director of CIA San Antonio, assured me that his definition of Latin American cuisines definitely included Tex-Mex and that regional Texas cooking will always be part of the learning experience.

Kellaway arranged for me to take a tour of the construction site. I was delighted to see an underground barbacoa pit is being built into the extensive outdoor cooking area. The school’s new construction is expanding the campus from 5,000 to 30,000 square feet. The combined buildings will include 7 different student cooking areas, a bakeshop, a public demonstration kitchen, and a Mexican-style kitchen.

Kellaway knows his way around Texas. He grew up in Houston and has lately been spending weekends with his kids at the beach in Galveston.